By the early 7th century, they formed an elite division in the Opsikion field force, coming under a domestikos before their elevation to a full theme.

His headquarters were at Ancyra, the former capital of Opsikion, and he belonged to the second tier of strategoi with an annual salary of 30 pounds of gold.

[1] The court ranks of the Bucellarian strategoi ranged from the mid-level spatharios to the higher protospatharios, with a single occurrence of the more exalted patrikios in the 10th century.

Its extent was further reduced under Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), when eight southern and southeastern banda were removed to form part of the new themes of Cappadocia (around Lake Tatta) and Charsianon (east of the Halys River).

Ruling from Ancyra, he continued to expand in central Anatolia, until he was toppled by Alexios Komnenos and the land was ceded to the Seljuks in 1075.